In 2006, North Carolina revived its search for cemeteries, taking steps to create the Cemetery Survey andStewardship Program.

Out of a growing public concern for the plight of North Carolina’s forgotten and abandoned cemeteries, theDepartment of Cultural Resources’ Office of Archives and History created the Cemetery Survey and StewardshipProgram, a joint effort between the Archives and Records Section and the Office of State Archaeology. State fundingfor the Cemetery Survey and Stewardship Program resulted from recommendations of a legislative House StudyCommittee on Abandoned Cemeteries that submitted its final report to the North Carolina House in December2006.

The committee also recommended changes to several General Statutes to provide greater protections to gravesites.Those bills were ratified in June 2007.

In 1981, about the same time the Wake County Survey began, the North Carolina survey group studied the problemof lost graveyards.

MYSTERY: Where did the missing cemeteries go? And how did we let that happen?

The committee found that “thousands of cemeteries of all ages, sizes and shapes have been abandoned and arebeing vandalized or lost.” Thousands of family cemeteries in the state were often the most threatened because oftheir small size and scattered location, in addition to the fact that these sites usually consisted of a handful of plain,unadorned headstones.

In one of a series of articles published in the Wake County Genealogical Societies’ journal, Mrs. Kittinger posed thethoughtful question: “Do we forget that North Carolina was an original colony?”

She continued, saying that these graveyards are and were the only tangible evidence of many first families, sons andgrandsons of whom went on to build the West.

In 1988, it was estimated that 35,000 tiny cemeteries had been abandoned, overlooked or lost across the state ofNorth Carolina. Many of those will forever be a mystery.

How do you find a hidden cemetery?

There is one clue that can lead you to find the possible site of a small, family cemetery. Here’sthe secret – just look for a grove of Cedar trees.

According to Donna Flowers, coordinator of the North Carolina Cemetery Survey in 1988,“Any time you ride down the road and see a grove of cedar trees, you can bet there is or wasa cemetery located there.” It was said that cedar trees were a very popular way to mark thelocation of a cemetery.

In Peggy Van Scoyoc’s oral history book, “Just A Horse Stopping Place,” Esther Iveyreinforces this fact with her description, “On Sundays we would go to the cemetery. TheJones lot was surrounded by Cedar trees. That was [where] Adolphus and Rufus Jones andtheir children were buried, and you would notice. There’s one of those graves that had [what]looked like an open Bible on it. We always thought a great deal of that, when it was

surrounded by cedar trees. You had to go in between the trees to get in that place. “

To start our studies, we collected records, both online and from friends.

As the Friends of the Page-Walker set out to study local cemeteries, we were lucky – we didn’t have to look forgroves of cedar trees. We simply had to look at our growing list, compiled from online sources, such asCemeteryCensus.com and Interment.net. We were also very fortunate in that Irene Kittinger shared with us heroriginal survey records from the 1980s – some typed, and some written by hand. It is in these records that you seethe true labor of love that went into the surveys, and the value they have for us today.

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We started with an ambitious plan to take our growing list of local cemeteries and visit them, one by one, with whatwe dubbed “The Cemetery Crawl.” In September, we held our first crawl – an evening visit to Hillcrest Cemetery,near downtown Cary. It only took an hour or so to realize that this cemetery held enough riches to entice us back forseveral visits, offering a wealth of stories – easily an evening’s worth. We quickly decided, then, to narrow our scopefor this year’s program and make a single cemetery our focus for tonight. And I can promise you, we’ve onlyscratched the surface.

So, we invite you to join us now, with a spirit willing to be haunted – by the stories and the images, the mysteriesand the secrets, we’ve found in Hillcrest.

If you were to close your eyes and imagine the perfect, idyllic small-town cemetery, you might very well conjure upHillcrest. True to its name, Hillcrest Cemetery is at the top of a hill. It’s surrounded by homes and appears to servethe adjacent neighborhoods as a passive park. It’s not unusual to see people walking their dogs through thecemetery (notwithstanding a town ordinance against this) or children riding their bikes along the peaceful, pavedpaths. Hillcrest is located just a few blocks from Cary’s downtown historic district, easily within walking distance.Nevertheless, it remains one of Cary’s hidden secrets.

Let’s start, then, by sharing a secret. Finding Hillcrest.

Finding Hillcrest is easy, if you start from one of Cary’s most notablelandmarks: Old Cary Elementary (now the Cary Arts Center).

Go west on Dry Avenue, crossing South Harrison, to Page Street.Turn left and the rest is really simple– Page Street ends at thecemetery gate. The cemetery opens daily at 8:00 am and closesduring the winter months at 6:00 pm; during the summer, it’s openuntil 8:00 pm.

Hillcrest is owned by the Town of Cary, but that was not always thecase. According to the Town’s records, the Hillcrest Cemeteryproperty was first owned by R. O. Heater, who conveyed the firsttracts, commonly known as the “old section,” to the HillcrestCemetery Association on June 11, 1945. Ten years later, George

Turner conveyed additional tracts to the Association. These tracts were conveyed to the Town of Cary in 1970; in1977, more tracts were deeded over to the Town.

At the time that the cemetery ownership was shifted fromthe Association to the Town, the Town was given twodocuments regarding the gravesites. The first is a smallyellow notebook in which the names of some of thepersons who are buried in the cemetery are listed – theinformation is handwritten and by different people. A notein front of the notebook states “Information compiledfrom available records-3/27/64”. The second document isa much larger scrapbook type book made of heavy paperthat contains maps of the gravesites and typewrittenpages entitled “Hillcrest Cemetery-Key To Graves.” Thisbook was compiled from information available in 1962.These documents indicate the old-fashioned bookkeeping that was used to maintain cemetery records. There wereno written procedures or ordinances in place and no contact information for the individual owners of the cemeteryplots. Some burials had occurred without being recorded; and often in the past the purchases of some cemeteryplots were transacted with a handshake rather than the issuance of a deed.

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The Town has worked diligently to bring the records up-to-date and identify those gravesites that were unknown whenthe Town acquired the property.

The map on the right from the Town of Cary shows an aerialview of Hillcrest, with many of the gravesites identified. WakeCounty land records show the cemetery property to cover 4.9acres. The Town’s official count of burial sites in Hillcrest is1,938.

We wondered which graves were the earliest and, based onthe cemetery census, here’s what we found.

The earliest recorded date of birth is that of Henry Jones,born on January 29, 1766.

He was the son ofNathaniel Jonesof Crabtree andthe husband ofNancy Jones. Theinscription nearthe bottom states,“A good name israther to bechosen than greatriches.”

The earliest recorded date of death is also among the Joneses –Nathaniel Jones, who died on August 31, 1840 – just 40 days before thedeath of Henry Jones.

This Nathaniel Jones, however, is not Nathaniel Jones of Crabtree. We’llinvite you to next year’s program to learn more about his place of burial.

There remain today several mysteries surrounding unmarked graves orillegible markers, such as this one, which brings us to our next mystery -

MYSTERY: Who is buried in the ten graves whose headstones are unreadable?

The cemetery census conducted by Shirley Olson in 2005, and updated by KarenFreeman in 2008, identified ten unreadable or unmarked headstones in Hillcrest.We may never know what secrets lie buried in these places.

Markers & Headstones

Hillcrest presents an interestingassortment of grave markers,both old and new.

Here are just a few of theinteresting shapes we found.

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While most of the graves have the traditional monument headstone, there are a number of examples of moredistinctive markers.

The box tomb; the headstoneand footstone - in this case with aledger marker (the moss-covered,concrete pad) and the obelisk.

Hillcrest also displays a wide arrayof artistic designs, some of whichgive us clues about those whoare buried there.

The book, “Stories In Stone, A Field Guide to Cemetery

Symbolism and Iconography,” opens its chapter on Flora by reminding us, “Flowers have served as symbols ofremembrance ever since we began memorializing the dead.”

Engravings of flowers adorn many of the gravestones (left).

There is some unusual artwork to be found among gravestones inHillcrest, in both the older and the more contemporary markers:

And quite interesting are these two footstones:

For the father, with a mortar and trowel, and the mother, with a rake and hoe.

MYSTERY: What is this symbol? What does itmean? The bent arm on the monument is taken from the

emblem of the Order of Railway Conductors, Scottish Rite as

pictured below. The lantern (which looks more like a grenade

on the monument) is

easily identifiable on

the emblem; the tool

remains unidentified.

C M Baucom was a

Seaboard freight conductor. He also served in the Spanish American War

and WWI. The prominent flag on his monument memorializes his service to

his country.5

Obelisk Box Tomb Headstone & Footstone withLedger Marker

Religious Symbols are also widely used in Hillcrest.

Here you see, in the upper left corner, the prayinghands; beneath them, the crown, symbolizingvictory, leadership and distinction, but more often infunerary, the crown represents the sovereignty of theLord. On the right, the Latin cross shown here with aheart, likely symbolizing the love of Christ; andbelow it, the Star of David. In the center is the Celticcross. The initials, IHS, in the center, are derived fromthe first three letters of Jesus’ name using the Greekalphabet: Iota, Eta, and Sigma.

Walking through Hillcrest, you are reminded of those who served their country in the military.

From reviewing cemetery surveys, we’ve identified some 62gravestones that speak of the role these brave men andwomen played in defending our country and standing fortheir ideals. The records reflect service in five wars, allbranches of the military, and rankings at all different levels.Here are two of the more elaborate gravestones that speakof the service record of those they memorialize.

Before we leave symbology, we must mention the secretsocieties, clubs and fraternal organizations symbolized on thegrave markers at Hillcrest.

The most prevalent symbol in Hillcrest is that of the Masons. More than a dozen markers carry theMasons’ symbol, the square and compass. It is said that the square and compass represents theinteraction between mind and matter and refer to the progression from the material to theintellectual and spiritual. The letter G in the center – some say this stands for ”God” while otherssay it stands for “geometry.”

According to the book, “Around and About Cary,” Cary Lodge No. 198 of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masonswas chartered on November 17, 1857 - 14 years before the town was incorporated.

A great deal of secrecy surrounds the organization – and those are secrets that we couldn’t tell you, even if we knewthem.

Other clubs, societies and organizations are also represented in Hillcrest. Here are more of the emblems we found.

The emblem of the Eastern Star (far left) is frequently seenon the marker for the wife of a Mason – rightly so, since theOrder of the Eastern Star is the female counterpart toFreemasonry. In the center is the emblem of the AmericanLegion, primarily an association for military veterans. Theemblem of Woodmen of the World (right) is one of the

best-represented in cemeteries, because until the 1920s, each member was provided with a tombstone.

Other organizations represented at Hillcrest, but not pictured here, include Sons of the American Revolution,Daughters of the American Revolution, Rotary International, Shriners and Boy Scouts of America.

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To tour Hillcrest is to take a stroll through Cary’s history.

Hillcrest is the final resting place of 15 of Cary’smayors, the earliest of these being JPH Adams, Cary’ssecond mayor, serving in 1871; J.P.H. Adams, Mayor in1884; and Robert J. Harrison, Cary’s mayor in 1903.

But mayors aren’t the only notable citizens we foundat Hillcrest. You’ll recognize many of them, becausethey have also been memorialized in other waysthroughout our community. Here is just a sampling:

Captain Harrison P. Guess, 1827 – 1919

Captain Guess was among thefirst “railroad men” to arrive inCary. His position was recorded as

“road master.” His name is familiar to many of us, because it graces the historic pink Guess-Ogle Home in downtown Cary. “Around and About Cary” tells us that the home takes its namefrom Captain Guess due to the fact that in 1880, he and his wife, Aurelia, purchased 16 acres ofland from Frank Page, including the site of the Guess-Ogle Home.

Dr. J. M. Templeton 1855 – 1932

One of Cary’s earliest doctors, Dr. Templeton is described in “Around andAbout Cary” as a man who searched for the truth, lived by principles andpracticed charity. He crusaded for Prohibition, public education, good roadsand economic justice for farmers. In addition to being a doctor andsurgeon, he ran a lumber business and also farmed. His gravestone carries the followinginscription: A country doctor who served his nation in the time of war, his community in the timeof peace, the rich and poor alike.

There is a small secret here – Dr. Templeton volunteered for the Army when the United Statesentered World War I. But it seems he quit after six months, supposedly because the Armyinsisted that he stop wearing civilian clothes. Nevertheless, the statement is true – he DID servehis nation in the time of war.

You can see Dr. Templeton’s uniform in the Cary History Museum.

Marcus Baxter Dry, 1871 – 1946

Marcus Baxter Dry was Principal of Cary HighSchool for 34 years, from 1908 through 1942. Healso served as Superintendent of the Cary SchoolDistrict. Under his leadership, North Carolina’sfirst state-supported high school, Cary High,became a model for all that followed. It is said

that his success as an educator stemmed from his genuine interest in each student andhis ability to embrace new ideas over the course of his career.

Dry was instrumental in the construction and modernization of Cary High School’sbuildings during his tenure. In 1913, under Dry’s leadership, a brick building was built on the school’s site. Thecurrent building, which we know as “Old Cary Elementary,” was constructed just a few years before Dry’s retirement.

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Dry’s residence was just east of the school and, today, is a contributing structure in the Cary Historic District. It isfitting, then, that both his house and the school are located on what is now called Dry Avenue.

Dr. Frank Yarborough, 1895 – 1957

Another of Cary’s earliest doctors, Dr. Yarborough first practiced with Dr. Templeton. He also practiced at Rex Hospital when it was located onSt. Mary’s Street in Raleigh. His home, where he established his ownpractice, stands today in the Cary Historic District, and still retains thetwo side entrances for his patients. One entrance was for those whowere white, the other for those who were black.

In Cary’s oral history book, “Just a Horse Stopping Place,” there is thefollowing account, recalled by Dr. Yarborough’s son: “He (referring to hisfather, Dr. Yarborough) built the office at the present location on ParkStreet that was connected to our home. He practiced there for the

entire time that I can remember him practicing medicine. The cars would line Park Streeton both sides of the street from morning until night. And when I say night, I meaneleven, twelve o’clock. When I’d come home from school in the day, it was just a line ofcars like a big procession going on. His office hours at night were Monday, Wednesdayand Friday. The rest of the nights, and even when he got out of the office, he wouldmake house calls.”

Hillcrest Cemetery also holds many stories of tragedy and great sadness. Among theseis the story of Dr. Yarborough’s daughter, Mary.

Mary Ray Yarborough was said to be “the apple of her father’s eye” and family membersrecall that she called him “Daddy Blue Eyes.” When she was eleven years old, shecontracted meningitis, and, unfortunately, the medical treatment she received wasunable to save her. It was said that the anguish of her death tore the Yarborough’smarriage apart. Their love for her is there at Hillcrest for all of us to see, in the bust ofMary that marks her grave in the family plot.

R. S. “Dad” Dunham, 1905 – 1987

This well-known teacher at Cary High School owned a 30-acretract of land on Kildaire Farm Road, which was described as “theclosest thing Cary had to a botanical garden.” Mr. Dunham’sagriculture students at Cary High received much of their forestrytraining on these grounds, which later became the site of theGlenaire, among the earliest of Cary’s continuing care retirementcommunities. It was the Dunhams desire to see their land usedfor this purpose.

If “Dad” Dunham’s name looks familiar to you, it may be thatyou’ve visited the popular neighborhood park on Walnut Street that was named after him.

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Tammy Lynn Pierce, 1957 – 1971

Described on her gravestone as, “Cary’s Angel Unaware,” Tammy LynnPierce sustained a brain injury at birth and lived all of her twelve years in thefamily’s home on Kildaire Farm Road. At that time there were no custodialhomes in North Carolina for children with developmental disabilities, and herfamily refused to place her in a state institution. Prior to her death, TammyLynn’s parents joined two Raleigh couples in similar circumstances to create afoundation that would lead to the establishment of the Tammy Lynn Centerfor Development Disabilities. Today, the Tammy Lynn Center offerseducation, residential and family support services to children and adults withspecial needs. The Center's goal is to provide the individuals it serves theopportunity to maximize their abilities in a loving, nurturing environment.

Fascinating Inscriptions

We couldn’t leave Hillcrest without sharing with you some of the fascinatinginscriptions found on the grave markers. And, yes, there are a few mysteriesand secrets waiting for us here.

Inscriptions provide the opportunity for those who are deceased to continue to speak to us. Or, in some cases, themessage is from loved ones, telling us about the one who has passed away. Some inscriptions give us advice andothers recite Bible scriptures that tell us of the person’s religious devotion.

The book, “Sticks and Stones: Three Centuries of North Carolina Gravemarkers, “ tells us that an influx of Britishstonecutters arrived here in the 1830s to work on the new state capitol in Raleigh and other major masonry projects.In 1837, North Carolina’s first resident funerary monument firm was established in Raleigh. Once rail lines werecomplete, more commercial stonecutters set up marble yards along the rails. While the railroad caused theproliferation of small marble yards, it also led to their demise. In the early 1900s, small marble yards were absorbedby larger ones and the ease of shipping monuments by rail led to the rise of the mail-order monument business.New stonecutting technology allowed for the use of granite, instead of marble, and within a few years, the artisticrole of the stonecutter changed from sculptor of the overall monument to mere engraver of the inscription. Today,stonecutters still work in North Carolina, but most of their business is sandblasting inscriptions onto blanks. Withonly a few exceptions, gravestone carving is a lost art.

We identified interesting and intriguing inscriptionsat Hillcrest. Some are serious, while others add atouch of humor.

Here is a sampling of those we found and liked:• Love makes memory eternal• She hath done what she could• Redeeming love has been my theme . . . • To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die• Always Giving Never Asking• Your legacy of love and laughter lives on through

your family• Mom to All Who Knew Her • She was too good, too gentle and fair to dwell in this cold world• Under The Dew, The Sun And The Stars, I Wait For You

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We were also touched by the simplicity of this hand-engraved marker.

Next, we have a mystery – what might this inscription mean?

“I’m Your Mother”

And who decided to place it on the marker – the deceased, or her family?

It took a second look at the inscription below to realize that there was a secret here, but apparently, the stonecutterdid not take that second look. Can you find it?

“We loved the well, but Jesus Loved you Best”

I suspect it was not “the well” that they loved, but that they loved “thee well.” Today, even spell check wouldn’thave caught this mistake. And either way, the second line cannot be disputed.

One of the most loved inscriptions – and the one that madeus really smile – was found on the back of the gravestone ofShirley Faye Tharpe.

It is time to leave Hillcrest, with our invitation to you to visitthis beautiful, peaceful and intriguing Cary treasure on your own.

We think you’ll fall in love with it, as we have.

As we depart Hillcrest, we’ll also leave you with this sage advice from one who is buried there.

Remember friends as you pass by

As you are now so once was I

As I am now, so you must be

Prepare therefore to follow me.

Ed. Note: In 2014, Hillcrest cemetery was designated a Cary historic landmark.

The Town Clerk’s office maintains an electronic map of the cemetery with information about each individual grave.

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Acknowledgements & Sources

Mary Hollis Barnes, c.a., NC Cemetery Survey & Stewardship ProgramFriends of the Page-WalkerKris Carmichael, Supervisor - Page Walker Arts & History CenterKaren Gray, Deputy Cary Town ClerkIrene Olive Kittinger, Cemetery Surveyor & HistorianPam Simons, Parks Planning Technician - Cary PRCRPhilip Thomason, Thomason & AssociatesPhyllis Tuttle, Preservationist“Around & About Cary” by Thomas M. Byrd & Jerry Miller Cary Historic District Registration Nomination CemeteryCensus.com – Surveyors Shirley Olson & Karen M. FreemanFrank L. Hoffman – Cedar Trees PhotoInterment.net“Just a Horse-Stopping Place: An Oral History of Cary, NC” by Peggy Van Scoyoc “Sticks & Stones” by M. Ruth Little“Stories In Stone” by Douglas KeisterTammyLynnCenter.org

Friends of the Page-Walker HotelBox 4234, Cary, NC 27519(919) 460-4963 email: info@friendsofpagewalker.orgwww.friendsofpagewalker.org

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